Glow Plug lights blinking and now Check engine

so my glow plug lights started blinking...and i was led to believe it was somethign to do with the brake lights. Well now my check engine light has come on while driving. Needless to say, I stopped driving, heh. Any ideas as to what is causing this?

I have 30,000 miles on my 2001 golf tdi...should i take it to the dealer, or try and find a cheaper mechanic? I live in the DC area (md side) and have yet to find a good VW mechanic.

The flashing glow plug light and MIL may very well be unrelated to one another. If you have verified that the brake lights work, then it is possible for them to be related, that is usually considered a "really bad thing™.

The only time I have seen both the flashing GP light and the MIL at the same time was when I tidied up the wiring to the 3rd injector - the previous owner of my car installed .205s and did a, uhhh, less than professional job of wiring up the new harness (he did use real VW/Audi repair wires, that was nice. /images/graemlins/smile.gif While the wiring for the 3rd injector was disconnected I did turn the key on to move the steering wheel (dropped the unplugged harness on to the skid plate /images/graemlins/frown.gif ) thus the MIL.

When I finished the wiring job and started the car, I saw the flashing GP light and MIL. Trusty VAG-COM in hand, I connected up and found exactly what I expected - a code indicating a problem with the needle lift sensor, which I cleared since I knew I had been messing around with it. Have not seen it since.

If your car is still under warranty (it should be if you are the original owner) the dealer should be the least expensive option. Don't let any dealer tell you that they have to charge for diagnostics on a warranty claim, that is utter bs. You could also look at the wiring for the 3rd injector and verify that it is in good condition, its an easy check for all but the most severely mechanically challenged. /images/graemlins/smile.gif If you don't mind driving to VA then Car54 is the über-TDI-wrench in the DC area, PM him and see what he says.

Hope this helps...

Tdi_Allan ..... I've seem to have done exactly what was done unto you,I've changed to .205's and had to splice the new connector using connectors from VW,but I'm throwing a glow plug and CEL now,is there anyway to ensure that the connection is in tact and secure,VAG-COM is in fact showing a needle lift sensor fault code,any suggestions on how to better secure the connection ???

Solder and shrink wrap will fix it. /images/graemlins/eek.gif

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Solder and shrink wrap will fix it. /images/graemlins/eek.gif

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That is exactly what I did.

The wires were soldered before, but the guy wrapped the long individual repair wires in electrical tape only. /images/graemlins/eek.gif I cut the repair wires as far as I could, re-soldered then, covered each wire with shrink tubing, then I covered BOTH wires with a bigger piece of shrink tubing, then I wrapped the whole thing up in electrical tape. (Sorry I don't have a pic, my digital camera is on extended loan to a friend. /images/graemlins/smile.gif )

Remember that the code gets thrown whenever power is sent to the ECU and the needle lift sensor is disconnected, even if you don't start the car. Clear the code with VAG-COM, if it comes back you have either a faulty electrical connection to the needle lift sensor, or the sensor itself is bad. Another possibility is that the wires are reversed - I seem to recall chanting "blue is 2" to remember where the harness wires should go on the connector.

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so my glow plug lights started blinking...and i was led to believe it was somethign to do with the brake lights. Well now my check engine light has come on while driving. Needless to say, I stopped driving, heh. Any ideas as to what is causing this?

I have 30,000 miles on my 2001 golf tdi...should i take it to the dealer, or try and find a cheaper mechanic? I live in the DC area (md side) and have yet to find a good VW mechanic.

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Is the car running ok or like crap? If it's running ok then just keep driving it and get someone to read the codes.

What exactly is shrink wrap?? and where can I find it? The wiring harness off the third injector seems to be continually acting up and my assumption is that it is the splice,however the wires seem crimped securely in the splicing tube and aren't loose or anything,but there is definately performance issues.???